Religion & Liberty Online Archives

Economics

March 12, 2013

Byzantium Wasn’t Particularly Byzantine

Writing in The Guardian, historian Peter Frankopan looks at how the Byzantine Empire, which had “the distinction of being one of the very few realms to survive for more than a millennium,” might offer clues to a way out of the current Eurozone crisis. Continue Reading...
March 07, 2013

Orthodoxy and Natural Law: A Reappraisal

At Ethika Politika today, I examine the recent critique by David Bentley Hart in the most recent issue of First Things of the use of natural law in public discourse in my article, “Natural Law, Public Policy, and the Uncanny Voice of Conscience.” Continue Reading...
March 06, 2013

As You Sow’s Grim Reaping

Religious groups seeking to serve myriad liberal agendas during the 2013 shareholder proxy resolution season look no further than As You Sow, a group dedicated to “large-scale systemic change by establishing sustainable and equitable corporate practices.” Continue Reading...
March 06, 2013

Why Culture Matters for Social Mobility

Over the next decade one of the key arguments between progressives and conservatives will be over the significance of income and wealth inequality. Many conservatives cannot fathom how the idea that some people have more money than others is inherently problematic, which is why the discussions seem so alien to us. Continue Reading...
March 05, 2013

They Don’t Deserve It!: The Idolatry of Wealth Inequality

MSNBC.com reports on a video about wealth inequality that has now gone viral, with over 2.2 million views in just a few months. A video made shortly after the 2012 election showing how much greater the disparity actually is, has gone viral in the last few days thanks to links from websites including Reddit and Mashable. Continue Reading...
March 04, 2013

The Faulty Moral Arithmetic of the GOP

Arthur Brooks, president of the American Enterprise Institute, has an op-ed in today’s Wall Street Journal that every conservative should read—and heed: Conservatives are fighting a losing battle of moral arithmetic. Continue Reading...
March 01, 2013

PovertyCure: From ‘Paternalism to Partnerships’

Alex Chafuen’s Forbes article on “champions of innovation,” which Michael Miller blogged here recently, is now one of the top features on the contributors page at The Blaze. Here’s an excerpt: When Adam Smith wrote his famous “Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations,” he helped shift the terms of the discussion. Continue Reading...
March 01, 2013

Corporate Welfare: Why?

I have yet to read a moral argument for why the taxes collected from working men and women should be redistributed to businesses. It’s called “corporate welfare.” This is the odd state of affairs where, business owners compete for government funding rather than exclusively competing for customers in the marketplace. Continue Reading...